This invention relates to the field of cigarette packages. More particularly, this invention relates to a limited-life reusable hard-pack cigarette case into which soft-pack cigarette containers may be inserted.
Cigarettes are normally sold in either hard or soft packs of twenty to twenty-five cigarettes. These packs are also sold in ten-pack cartons, and sometimes in five-pack half-cartons. Both hard and soft packs typically cover an inner foil lining, which protects the flavor of the tobacco.
Hard packs have the advantage that they are more sturdy than soft packs, protecting the cigarettes from being crushed when a pack is placed in a consumer's purse, or pocket, rolled up shirt sleeve, or when a heavy object is inadvertently placed on top of the pack, such as on an automobile seat. In addition, hard packs provide easier access to the enclosed cigarettes than soft packs by having recessed front walls adjacent to the top closure.
Hard packs, however, cost more to make than comparable soft packs. In addition, hard packs require more material than soft packs, raising environmental concerns of waste, both in use of resources and in disposing of used packs.
There is a need for a system that couples the advantages of hard packs--both in product protection and ease of access to the cigarettes--that costs less and is less wasteful of environmental resources.